Ferrero (2013)

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Ferrero S.p.A., more commonly known as Ferrero Group, is an Italian manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products and the second-largest chocolate and confectionery company in the world, founded in 1946. [1]

Ferrero is well known for several of their brands, including Famous Amos, Kinder Bueno, Ferrero Rocher, Ferrero Küsschen, as well as Nutella.

Controversy

Ferrero's Commercial "Yes, Weiss Can!"

In 2013, Ferrero published a commercial in Germany, which took an election theme. This commercial was made to introduce the launching of the white chocolate from Ferrero Kusschen (little kisses), which previously have only been on certain seasons. This ad raised protests from a lot of people, as Ferrero used “Germany votes White” as the slogan. [2]

This advertisement was created by M&C Saatchi, a multinational independent and fastest-growing agency. In the commercial, Ferrero Küsschen, a package of white chocolate, gives a political address in a large hall packed with lily-white and citizens. The depiction of a political rally full of enthusiastic Germans, supporting the virtues of whiteness, is problematic.

Tahir Della, Chairman of the Black German Initiative, points out that the very fact that this commercial has made it as far as the airwaves “shows how subtle racism can be in Germany. It's recognizable to people who are affected, but most of them don't catch on so quickly.” [3] Some people also noticed how the slogan that is used in this ad “Yes Weiss Can” (“Yes White Can”), mimics the 2008 slogan of Barrack Obama, “Yes We Can”.[4]

In the end, Ferrero pulled out the commercial. In an email statement, Ferrero offered the following CYA blather: "It is important for us to make it clear that we are strictly against any form of xenophobia, right-extremism or racism. All of our assertions were purely about white chocolate—and without any xenophobic intent. We regret that the commercial has been misunderstood and that the product message has otherwise been interpreted."

Reference